ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Afghanistan first country to recognize Indian Pharmacopoeia
New Beginning for Indian Pharmaceuticals and Standards
The Indian Pharmacopoeia  has been recognised formally by the National Department of Regulation of Medicines and Health Products of the Ministry of Public Health of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. It will also be used based on the requirement as reputable pharmacopoeia in the laboratory of medicines and health products quality. With this, a new beginning has been made and Afghanistan has become the first country to recognize IP pursuant to the efforts of Department of Commerce and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
IP is an officially recognized book of standards as per the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules 1945 thereunder. The IP specifies the standards of drugs manufactured and marketed in India in terms of their identity, purity and strength.
The quality, efficacy and safety of the medicines are important from healthcare perspective. In order to ensure the quality of medicinal products, the legal and scientific standards are provided by Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission  in the form of Indian Pharmacopoeia . As per, the Second Schedule of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, IP is designated as the official book of standards for drugs imported and/or manufactured for sale, stock or exhibition for sale or distribution in India.
The IP Commission’s mission is to promote public and animal health in India by bringing out authoritative and officially accepted standards for quality of drugs including active pharmaceutical ingredients, excipients and dosage forms, used by health professionals, patients and consumers. This is achieved by developing the standards for medicines and supporting their implementation. In addition, IPC also develops IP Reference Substances  that act as fingerprint for identification of an article under test and its purity as prescribed in the IP monographs. Standards prescribed in the IP are authoritative in nature and are enforced by the regulatory authorities for quality control of medicines in India.
Prime Minister's Office
PM expresses happiness over Shri S. Selvaganabathy for being elected to Rajya Sabha
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has expressed happiness over Shri S. Selvaganabathy for being elected to the Rajya Sabha from Puducherry.
In a tweet, the Prime Minister said;
"It is a matter of immense pride for every BJP Karyakarta that our Party has got it’s first ever Rajya Sabha MP from Puducherry in Shri S. Selvaganabathy Ji. The trust placed in us by the people of Puducherry is humbling. We will keep working for Puducherry’s progress."
Ministry of Defence
CAS Addresses Officers at College of Air Warfare
Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, Chief of the Air Staff  visited College of Air Warfare  on 03 Sep 20. The Secunderabad based CAW with its origins dating back to 1959 is an IAF institution of higher learning, which conducts courses on Air Warfare for tri-service officers in an integrated manner.
During his visit to CAW the CAS addressed officers from all the three Services undergoing the 44th Higher Air Command Course . He sensitized them about the emerging contours of National Security, emphasized the unique attributes of air power that would allow its employment in likely scenarios and apprised the course officers about the progress being made in deliberations that are ongoing for creating integrated structures towards enhancing synergy in future war fighting.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
India’s Cumulative COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage crosses the landmark of 86Cr
More than 38 Lakh doses administered in the last 24 hours
Recovery Rate currently at 97.78%
26,041 New Cases reported in the last 24 hours
India's Active Caseload  is 0.89% of Total Cases
Weekly Positivity Rate  less than 3% for last 94 days
With the administration of 38,18,362 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage crossed the landmark of 86Cr  as per provisional reports till 7 am today. This has been achieved through 84,07,679 sessions.
The break-up of the cumulative figureas per the provisional report till 7 am today include:
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HCWs
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1st Dose
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1,03,71,418
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2nd Dose
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88,35,377
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FLWs
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1st Dose
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1,83,49,453
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2nd Dose
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1,48,33,709
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Age Group 18-44 years
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1st Dose
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34,82,66,215
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2nd Dose
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7,45,08,007
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Age Group 45-59 years
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1st Dose
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15,64,81,731
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2nd Dose
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7,39,69,804
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Over 60 years
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1st Dose
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9,97,47,469
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2nd Dose
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|
5,47,95,828
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Total
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86,01,59,011
The recovery of 29,621 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally of recovered patients  to 3,29,31,972.
Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 97.78%. Recovery Rate is currently at its highest peak since March 2020.
Sustained and collaborative efforts by the Centre and the States/UTs continue the trend of less than 50,000 Daily New Cases that is being reported for 92 consecutive days now.
26,041 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours.
The Active Caseload is presently2,99,620. Active cases presently constitute 0.89% of the country's total Positive Cases.
The testing capacity across the country continues to be expanded. The last 24 hours saw a total of
11,65,006tests being conducted. India has so far conducted over 56.44 Cr  cumulative tests.
While testing capacity has been enhanced across the country, Weekly Positivity Rate at 1.94% remains less than 3% for the last 94 days now. The Daily Positivity rate reported to be 2.24%. The daily Positivity rate has remained below3% for last 28 days and below 5% for 111 consecutive days now.
Ministry of Railways
ECoR GM INSPECTED TALCHER AREA
Reviewed infra related issues of Talcher area and inspected traffic facility works.
East Coast Railway  General Manager, Shri Manoj Sharma inspected the ongoing works at Talcher area including Infrastructural Development and Traffic Facilities. Senior officials from ECoR headquarters and Divisional Railway Manager, Khurda Road Division Shri H. S. Bajwa were also present during the inspection.
During the inspection, Shri Sharma reviewed the infrastructure works and advised officials to take necessary steps to ensure that the works should be completed within the target period.
Shri Sharma also inspected the Railway Sidings at Talcher for better traffic movements and also to provide benefit to the stakeholders and industries. Reviewing the traffic facility works, General Manager instructed concerned officials to ensure facilities for hassle free traffic movements in this area.
RoM
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Ministry of Defence
BRO feat recognised by Guinness World Records
Director General Border Roads  Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry received the Guinness World Records certificate on November 16, 2021 for the achievement of Border Roads Organisation  of constructing and black topping the world’s highest motorable road at 19,024 feet at Umlingla Pass in Ladakh. In a virtual ceremony, official adjudicator of the Guinness World Records based in the United Kingdom Shri Rishi Nath acknowledged the remarkable achievement of BRO for constructing the highest altitude road in the world. In a four-month long process undertaken by the Guinness World Records, five different surveyors verified the claim.
The 52-kilometre long Chisumle to Demchok tarmac road passes through the 19,024 feet high Umlingla Pass and betters the previous record of a road in Bolivia, which connects volcano Uturuncu at 18,953 feet. The Umlingla Pass road is another landmark in resurgent India’s achievement as it has been constructed at an altitude higher than the North and South Base Camps of Mount Everest which are at an altitude of 16,900 feet and 17,598 feet respectively.
On the occasion, DGBR Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry spoke about the challenges faced during the road construction to Umlingla Pass, which he said, tested both the human spirit and efficacy of machines in an extremely tough terrain where temperatures in winters dip to -40 degrees and oxygen levels are 50 percent below normal.
The BRO provided a black topped road to the important village of Demchok in Eastern Ladakh that will be a boon to the local population of the region as it will enhance the socio-economic conditions and promote tourism in Ladakh.
The strategically important road, which is approximately 15 kilometres long, highlights the focus of the Government in developing road infrastructure in border areas.
ABB/Savvy
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Ministry of Finance
Enhancement of CRCL and Contactless Customs
Shri M. Ajit Kumar, Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs  yesterday unveiled several new and modern testing equipment inducted into the Central Revenues Control Laboratory  which would significantly enhance the in-house testing capability of the Customs leading to faster import and export clearances. He also launched new IT functionalites for supporting “Contactless Customs” under the CBIC’s flagship programme, “Turant Customs”.
Shri Kumar released a brochure on the occasion to highlight the equitment and testing facilities of the CRCL after extensive upgradation with state-of-art equipment, costing about Rs. 80 crores. 8 CRCL Laboratories at New Delhi, Kandla, Vadodara, Mumbai, Nhava Sheva, Kochi, Chennai & Visakhapatnam have obtained NABL accreditation for chemical testing in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025:2017, for defined scope. Also, the CRCL laboratories at New Delhi and Chennai are NABL accredited for forensic testing .
The unveiled IT functionalities to promote Contactless Customs empower the exporters to self manage changes in their their Bank Account and AD Code through ICEGATE as well as register on ICEGATE without having to approach a Customs officer. A major innovation that was announced today is the automated debit of Bonds in the ICES which will dispense with the need for importer to visit Custom Houses to get the debity made manually. It has also been decided that the balance in the Bond would henceforth be indicated in the import document, which would help importers plan their imports. Chairman has highlighted the relevance of these functionalities, which can minimise physical interface with Customs.
Importantly, considering the benefits ushered in by providing single point interface set up in Bengaluru and Chennai Zones for 1st Phase of Faceless Assessment, CBIC would set up Turant Suvidha Kendra  to all the Customs formations w.e.f 15.07.2020. TSKs will heneceforth be the sole physical interface point with Customs formations whenever physical submission of documents is required by Customs such as for defacement of Country of Origin Certificates. This is expected to further ease the Customs clearance process.
Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises
Will endeavour to take Khadi India to new heights : KVIC Chairman
The newly appointed Chairman of Khadi and Village Industries Commission  Shri Manoj Kumar has said he would endeavour to take Khadi India to new heights on the mantra of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and Khadi for Nation, Khadi for Fashion and Khadi for Transformation. Shri Manoj Kumar made his first visit at KVIC Headquarters Mumbai after assuming charge as KVIC Chairman on 15th July, 2022. On this occasion, he paid floral tribute to the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi in the headquarters premises of KVIC.
While addressing officials of KVIC, the Chairman said, realizing Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s dream of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” would be his priority while establishing maximum number of small and micro units and creating self-employment through various schemes of KVIC to achieve the larger goal of self-reliant India. Shri Kumar said, "Khadi has become popular again in India in the last few years and it will be his priority to earn a global recognition for Khadi".
KVIC Chairman Shri Kumar said that he would try to make Khadi 'local to global' and increase the demand for India's swadeshi products all over the world. This will ensure that money reaches in the hands of more and more artisans associated with KVIC, so that their sources of income increase and the artisans standing at the last rung of the society should be part of economic development and become self-dependent, he added. He further said, "It will be the endeavour of the commission that every hand should get work and fair price for work".
Shri Manoj Kumar also said that the schemes and programmes being run by the
Commission would be simplified soon, to provide maximum benefits to the common man. He said that, to make Khadi products more accessible to the consumers, an e-commerce initiative has also been taken by the Commission which will be further strengthened.
Ministry of Civil Aviation
16 States/UTs have reduced VAT on aviation fuel till now
GST rate has also been reduced from 18% to 5% for MRO services
During 2021-22, Indian airports carried around 83 million domestic passengers registering a growth rate of 59% as compared to 2020-21. As compared to the pre-pandemic domestic passenger traffic of around 136 million , the traffic in 2021-22 has declined by 39%. Details are enclosed in the Annexure. Challenges that affect the profitability of the domestic aviation sector include high cost of aviation fuel, foreign exchange variations, constrained airport infrastructure and highly price-sensitive customers etc.
Some of the steps that the Government has taken overcome the challenges are as follows:
 Several States/ UTs that imposed a high rate of VAT on aviation fuel were requested to rationalise the same. 16 States/UTs responded positively including: Andaman and Nicobar Islands; Arunachal Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu; Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir; Jharkhand, Karnataka, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
 Goods and Services Tax  rate has been reduced from 18% to 5% for domestic Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul  services.
 A conducive aircraft leasing and financing environment has been enabled.
 Improvement in air navigation infrastructure is being carried out to enable better utilization of airspace and airport capacity.
 To reduce congestion at airports and to address the challenge of sub-optimal infrastructure, Airports Authority of India  has taken up development of new and existing airports with a projected capital expenditure of around Rs. 25,000 crores in next five years. This includes construction of new terminals, expansion and modification of existing terminals, expansion and/ or strengthening of existing runways, aprons, Airport Navigation Services  infrastructure, control towers and technical blocks etc.
 The Public Private Partnership  airports at Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru are undertaking major expansion projects of around Rs. 30,000 crores by 2025. Additionally, Rs. 36,000 crores have been planned for investment in the development of new Greenfield airports across the country under PPP mode.
 Government of India  has accorded 'in-principle' approval for setting up of 21 Greenfield Airports across the country. So far, eight Greenfield airports namely, Sindhudurg and Shirdi in Maharashtra, Durgapur in West Bengal, Pakyong in Sikkim, Kannur in Kerala, Orvakal in Andhra Pradesh, Kalaburagi in Karnataka and Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh have been operationalised.
This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation Gen.  V. K. Singh  in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
IIE, Guwahati signs MoU with IIM, Shillong to boost Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in the North Eastern Region
With an aim to boost the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the North Eastern Region , the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship , Guwahati, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding  with the Incubation and Enterprise Support Centre of Indian Institute of Management Shillong  to boost the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the North Eastern Region .
The objective of this partnership is to encourage entrepreneurship, incubation, and startups in the North Eastern Region. To support professional development in the areas of management, entrepreneurship, and skill development, and to meet the larger demand for capacity building and entrepreneurship promotion in the NER, the institutes will collaborate and exchange information and resources.
Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Shri Rajesh Aggarwal said the Northeast has tremendous potential that is just waiting to be discovered. This partnership will help create an atmosphere where startups and entrepreneurs can flourish in the region by not just supporting and encouraging the locals but also giving them access to formal training, professional mentorship, and the technical know-how needed to run a successful business. He said our aim is to foster an entrepreneurship enabling ecosystem that promotes innovation and growth in the Northeast.
By collaborating on this initiative, both institutes will benefit from each other’s strengths in promoting skill development in the NER and the country at large. The institutes will together conduct certified courses on entrepreneurship development and also train startups and incubates under the Incubation and Enterprise Support Centre, IIM Shillong. They will also promote educational lectures, workshops, exhibitions, and other knowledge dissemination programmes in the region. Both institutes will share infrastructure facilities like laboratories, libraries, incubation centres, etc. with each other for the research work of the incubates and beneficiaries. Faculties from both institutes will be a part of mentoring, training, workshops, and evaluation juries for the incubation centre.
MJPS
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PIB Headquarters
TRAIN DIVERSION
Train No. 22837/22838, Dharti Abba Weekly express running between Ernakulam and Hatia will run in diverted route of Bilaspur- Nagpur- Ballarsha route until further advise due to Flood in region under East Coast Railways.
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Prime Minister's Office
CM of Tamil Nadu, MK Stalin calls on PM
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Shri M K Stalin has called on the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi.
The Prime Minister’s Office tweeted;
“The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Thiru @mkstalin called on PM.”
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs 
Cabinet approves demerger of Nagarnar Steel Plant from NMDC Ltd. and strategic disinvestment of demergedentity
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its ‘in-principle’ approval to the demerger of Nagarnar Steel Plant  from National Minerals Development Corporation  Ltd. and strategic disinvestment of the demerged company  by selling entire Government of India stake in it to a strategic buyer.
NSP is a three million ton per annum  Integrated Steel Plant being set up by NMDC at Nagarnar, Bastar District, Chhattisgarh in an area of 1980 acres at revised estimated cost of Rs.23,140 crore . As on date NMDC has invested Rs 17,186 Crore on the project out of which Rs 16,662 crore is from NMDC's own funds and Rs 524 crore has been raised from bond market.
With the approval, CCEA has amended its earlier decision taken on 27th October, 2016, to disinvest Nagarnar Steel Plant as a unit of NMDC.
The proposal to demerge the NSP into a separate company before its disinvestment has the following advantages:
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- With demerger, NMDC can focus on its core activities ofmining;
- After demerger, NSP shall be a separate company and the managements of NMDC and NSP shall be accountable for their respective operations and financial performance. Shareholders of NMDC will also be shareholders of the demerged company  in the proportion of their shareholding.
- After the demerger, investors will have better visibility of the operations and cash flow of NMDC and NSP separately.
- The demerger will also be tax neutral from the point of view of capital gains.
The CCEA has taken note that the process of demerger and disinvestment will be initiated in parallel and disinvestment of demerged company  is expected to be completed by September 2021.
NMDC is a listed CPSE under the Ministry of Steel and Government of India has 69.65 % shareholding in the Company.
Ministry of Finance
Cabinet empowers the Board of Directors of the Holding / Parent Public Sector Enterprises to recommend and undertake the process for Disinvestment / closure of their subsidiaries / units / stake in JVs and additional delegation of powers to Alternative Mechanism
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal for empowering the Board of Directors of the Holding / Parent Public Sector Enterprises to recommend and undertake the process for Disinvestment  or closure of any of their subsidiaries / units / stake in JVs. The Cabinet has also empowered Alternative Mechanism to accord ‘in principle’ approval for disinvestment  / closure of subsidiaries / units /sale of stakes in JVs of Holding / Parent PSEs [except the disinvestment  of Maharatna PSEs which was delegated to them and review the process of disinvestment / closure by Parent / Holding PSEs.
The process for undertaking the strategic disinvestment transactions / closures to be followed by the PSEs should be open, based on the principles of competitive bidding and consistent with the guiding principles to be laid down. For strategic disinvestment, such guiding principles will be laid down by DIPAM. For closure, DPE shall issue guiding principles.
Presently, the Board of Directors of Holding / Parent PSEs have been delegated certain powers under the Maharatna, Navratna and Miniratna categories to make equity investment to establish financial joint ventures and wholly-owned subsidiaries and undertake mergers / acquisitions subject to certain ceilings of net-worth. However, the Boards do not have powers for disinvestment / closure of their subsidiaries / units/ stake in JVs, except some limited powers given to Maharatna PSEs for minority stake disinvestment of shareholding in their subsidiaries. Therefore, approval of the Cabinet / CCEA was needed by Holding / Parent CPSEs, for disinvestment  / closure of their subsidiaries / units or sale of their stakes in a JV, irrespective of the size of operations / capital deployed of such subsidiaries, etc. In line with the spirit of the new PSE policy, 2021 to minimize presence of Government PSEs and for functional requirement, further delegation in this matter have been provided through this decision.
The proposal intends to reform the functioning of PSEs, by allowing greater autonomy to the Board of Directors of the Holding PSEs for taking decisions and recommend for timely existing from their investment in Subsidiaries / Units or JVs, which will enable them to monetize their investment in such subsidiaries/units/JVs at an opportune time or close their loss-making and inefficient subsidiary/unit/JV at right time. This will result in expeditious decision making and saving of wasteful operational/financial expenditure by the PSEs.